Due to the unusually heavy snow accumulation this winter- the trail, the campground and access points for emergency exits are all not going to be in condition to hold the race on?April 13th- a date we set due to the Easter holiday and week earlier than we would normally hold the race.

Thus, the WMMBA and DNR has agreed to move the 25th Anniversary of the Yankee Springs Time Trial race to?SUNDAY MAY 18th!

The date has been moved in Bikereg and the registration close will also be changed. ?Additionally, you will now have until the end of April to order T-Shirts!

The WMMBA appreciates all the great support over the past seven years we’ve managed this event and appreciate your understanding with regards to trail conditions, safety and maintenance of the Yankee Springs rustic area grounds. ?With a?May 18th?date we might even have 70 degree temperatures!

Last year, when elected president for the MMBA for 2013, I posted a couple of ?”Why an MMBA” threads.

The MMBA became a victim of its own success. I read through some meeting notes dating back to the formation of the MMBA and it was a fascinating trip through time. The names on the documents at the formation of the MMBA are, frankly, legendary in my opinion. These guys were the revolutionaries of our sport creating a new organization! ? But eventually mountain biking became mainstream into the 2000’s. ? There were, for the most part, fewer initiatives which attacked our access at the state level. ?There was also less room to expand mountain biking on state lands as well. The focus to expand turned to county and municipal lands and the MMBA chapters could tout the state actions and record to convince municipal/county land managers to grant access. This turn to local advocacy uncoupled from the state DNR issues led to a less unified organization, in my opinion. Why foster and support a statewide group when all your work is local and not linked to what is occurring statewide anymore?

So the board three years ago opted to morph the MMBA into an umbrella group and break the chapters off to IMBA. Frankly, we also dodged a bullet as this devolution was in progress as the “horse bill” was in legislative committee and was a threat to our existing trails statewide! Some may differ on how real the threat was, but there’s no escaping the fact that unless mountain bikers are unified, any future threat will be less easy to combat. The MMBA was able to combat that and earlier threats which were the genesis for the formation of the MMBA. My concern is that as an “umbrella” organization, any future such fight will be less effective.

The MMBA is the umbrella organization which can be the central repository for documentation, presentations, etc., for lessons learned within each chapter. The MMBA can pass on the information to other chapters so they can learn from success of various activities whether trail design, how to approach land managers, information on preparing presentations. Additionally, set-backs or losses can be learning experiences and should be retained for future reference. The MMBA is the tool to do that.

In this regard we have only been marginally successful. To be sure there are a couple visible examples of sharing information. The advocacy efforts with regards to Poto-Waterloo have been very public (thanks to Jason Aric Jones) so that other chapters can benefit from their efforts as benchmarking. There have been other successes in the state but the means and approach to those successes have been shared less.

So that key aspect which I think we’ve lost is that “member driven” ethos.

In order to connect the MMBA to individual mountain bikers we embarked on a few changes which I think were positive:
1. Changes in the forum such as moving advocacy to the top of the page and opening the REI trail school segment to public view and changing the title
2. Implemented the Michigan Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. This move was to highlight the long heritage of the volunteers who came before us and built the MMBA.

Some less visible changes included:
a) Adding two new associate advocacy directors to monitor activity in Lansing and elsewhere which may affect our sport.
b) The CPS took a slight change as long-time experienced promoter Brent Walk agreed to step in as CPS director.

Probably the low point was the less than fully successful Expo. We did partner with the League of Michigan Bicyclists and the Michigan Trails & Greenways to create a “BICYCLING EXPO” but our reach-out to them was too close to the expo to enable their assistance making the event bigger. I do think that some impact of the decreasing attendance (as well as the lessening number of chapters that choose to have a booth) is a direct result of the move to IMBA chapters. So we have some decisions to make as we progress through 2014 in regards to the Expo.

While not specifically a mountain bike issue, all riders should be interested in the advocacy action led by the League of Michigan Bicyclists. See the information below- especially for those in State House District 98: ?State Representative Jim Stamas representing portions of Bay and Midland Counties. Within Bay County, Stamas represents the cities of Auburn, Pinconning and part of Midland and the townships of Beaver, Fraser, Garfield, Gibson, Mount Forest, Pinconning and Williams. Within Midland County, the District includes part of the city of Midland and the townships of Midland, Homer, Jerome, Larkin, Lee and Lincoln.

All cyclists:

Take a stand for safe bicycling in Michigan. Let Representative Stamas know you want action on legislation aimed at protecting Michigan bicyclists and pedestrians

The League of Michigan Bicyclists? (LMB) records indicate that you currently live or work in House District 98 represented by State Representative Jim Stamas. This puts you in a truly unique position to help improve bicycle safety locally for you and your family, and to stand up for the right?s of bicyclists all across Michigan.

LMB has been working on two bills (House Bills 5080 and 4792) that would help make our roadways safer by requiring drivers to use extra caution around bicyclists, pedestrians, and wheelchair users. The bills passed out of committee last fall with broad bipartisan support and now await action on the House floor. They are currently stalled on the desk of Representative Stamas.

This is where you come in. Representative Stamas is the Majority Floor Leader, which means he is responsible for setting the legislative agenda for which bills are brought up for a vote by the entire House of Representatives. Representative Stamas needs to hear from voters like you that these bills are important. As his constituent, your voice carries extra weight!

Please contact Representative Stamas TODAY to urge him to schedule HB 5080 and 4792 for a vote on the House floor ASAP.

2)???You are strongly encouraged to customize the letter to explain why this issue is important to you (NOTE: we are not circulating a general petition at this time as we really are seeking personalized messages from his constituents). Make sure to include your name and address. Legislators are much more likely to read and respond when they know you are a constituent.

3)???Please BLIND COPY (Bcc)?john@LMB.org?so we can keep track of how many correspondences are sent and so we can keep you up to date about progress.

4)???Pat yourself on the back. You just made a super star assist to help advance bicycle safety in Michigan!

5)???Want to feel even better? Share this email to urge others in District 98 to take action and know that you truly helped to make a difference

To:?jimstamas@house.mi.gov
Bcc:?john@LMB.org
Subject: Please schedule HB 4792 and HB 5080?for a voteNOTE: Make sure to insert a personal story?Why are these bills are important to you? (experiences you have encountered on the road including close calls, intimidation, or actually being hit, why you ride a bicycle and your concerns over safety, etc)

Dear Representative Stamas:

As the House Majority Floor Leader, I am urging you to schedule HB 5080 and HB 4792 for a vote. The legislation was reported out of the Criminal Justice Committee on?October 16th, 2013 with broad bipartisan support. The bills would enhance criminal penalties for reckless motorists in the event they injure or kill a bicyclist or other “vulnerable roadway user,” including pedestrians and wheelchairs users.

Each year a disproportionally high number of Michigan bicyclists and pedestrians are involved in crashes that result in death or serious injury. By supporting this legislation, policymakers will create greater protections for all legal users of the roads, similar to those that already exist for construction workers, school children, and farmers using Michigan roads.

House Bills?5080?and?4792, introduced by Reps. Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) and David Nathan (D-Detroit), would update the state vehicle and criminal codes to state that a motorist who kills a bicyclist while committing a criminal moving violation, would face up to 15 years in prison and/or a $7,500 fine. Injuring a cyclist in the same circumstances could result in up to one year in jail or a $1,000 fine, in addition to punishment for any additional charges. Even more important, this legislation will provide drivers education instructors additional opportunities to promote share the road principles to young drivers.

Again, I urge you to put this common sense legislation on the calendar for a vote.

January 26th, the MMBA inducted its first Hall of Fame recipients. Four people that have had a large and positive impact on the growth and advocacy of mountain biking in the state of?Michigan.

Dwain Abramowski was inducted in the category Advocacy
Dan Harrison was inducted for his contributions to Trail Building and Design
Brent Walk was inducted for the category Promotions
Art Fleming was inducted to recognize his impact and contributions to mountain bike racing

At today’s annual required Board meeting, Kim White was re-elected as MMBA treasurer, Brindly Byrd- president of the Mid-Michigan Mountain Bike Association, was elected vice-president of the MMBA. ?I was re-elected as President for the next year

In the next week or so, I will publish a sort of “state of the MMBA” statement. ?I plan to reference my comments last year of “Why an MMBA” as well as address some initiatives enacted this past year, activities going forward – including the Expo activities. ? But let’s get past this next snowstorm first!

When: ?January 26, 2014- watch for more details

The Michigan Bicycling Expo is open to the general public.? It is a great opportunity to connect with passionate cyclists of all disciplines, find great deals with the vendors, and to celebrate the advocacy efforts of the past year.? This year’s expo will feature:

The MMBA Championship Point Series would like to thank Velocity-USA for their support of the 2013 season. We had a great visit to the wheel department this morning – watch the attached video and see who won the Blunt wheelset this year! And the winner is……

In the ongoing effort to implement the MMBA Hall of Fame I am trying to contact several prospective nominees- if you know how to contact them please pass on the email President@mmba.orgso they can get in touch with me- it would be greatly appreciated. ? ? ? Thanks